How effective are Hollywood representations of the Anthropocene? Nostalgia is inherent in the generic format of this type of Blockbuster cinema. The conservatism in these films regarding religion, humanity, family, colonialism, and Euro-centricity forces the cinematic ends (and future fictive worlds) to confirm these nostalgic values. Michael Svoboda has elegantly described Hollywood’s conservatism and incapability to update its narrative systems: “Thus, far from dealing with the challenges posed by living in the new geological epoch that is the Anthropocene, these films reboot the Holocene”. This presentation will rejuvenate critical discussions of cinematic post-apocalyptic futures by adding nostalgia as a crucial component to our understanding of how Hollywood film both represents the Anthropocene and discourages environmental agency through its nostalgic and reactionary representations. This analysis will open with a broad perspective on how Hollywood constructs fictive world past ecological disasters, and then focus on how two different Hollywood post-apocalyptic films, Waterworld (Kevin Reynolds, 1995) and Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2014), shape post-apocalyptic worlds in a nostalgic fashion.

Works Cited Svoboda, Michael, (2014): “A Review of Climate Fiction (Cli-Fi) Cinema … Past and Present”, October 22, 2014,. Accessed 2018-04-07. (https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/dl/YCC_2014_Svoboda_TheCompleteCli-FiSeries.pdf)